Unexpected
by DPRRluvJ13MM
Summary: Tucker discovers how truly unexpected the world can be. And it's all because he met Carl in the hospital. Post Doctor's Disorder. One-shot.


_**Just a little one-shot. Nothing much, but the plot bunny was nagging at me so I wrote it ^^. This basically takes place a week after Doctor's Disorder. Yeah, hope you like it.**_

**Unexpected**

Tucker hated hospitals.

He had his whole life. Nothing but sharp, pointy, sticky things and the smell of sick people.

And Carl.

For the love of God, this guy would not shut up. The old man in the wheel chair would go on and on about what it was like 'back in his day'. Tucker groaned. If he wanted a History lesson he'd actually bother to pay attention in History _class_.

Eventually, Tucker had zoned out on one of Carl's anecdotes on the time he had spent in the Great Depression. When Tucker zoned back in, the gorgeous nurse that was taking care of them walked back in.

"Here's your apple sauce, sir," she said handing a cup of apple sauce to the old man.

"Aw. Thanks sweetie," Carl thanked.

"Here you are, Mr. Foley. A Nasty Burger with fries," the nurse said handing a bag to Tucker.

"Sweet! Thanks," Tucker thanked joyously.

The nurse flashed a smile his way and left.

Carl swallowed his apple sauce and said: "Huh? You fancy her, eh?"

Tucker scowled and reached into the greasy bag to pull out a handful of fries.

"You know, I had quite a few lady friends back in the day," Carl said raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh, really? And how'd everything work out for you guys?" Tucker asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh, quite well. One of them actually wound up being my wife," Carl smiled.

Tucker spit out a few fries. "You were married?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yup. I was quite the ladies man back then," Carl grinned.

"Uh…she coming to visit you any time?" Tucker asked.

"No. She passed away many years ago," Carl said sadly.

Tucker choked on a fry. "I-ack-I'm sorry."

"No. It's fine. Stuff like this happens all the time. It's just the circle of life," Carl said waving the problem away with his hand.

Tucker swallowed the fry and slumped in his bed. He reached back into the bag and pulled the Nasty Burger. He took a bite out of it.

"How can you eat that?" Carl asked.

Tucker stared at him, confused.

"It's called a Nasty Burger. How could that possibly be appetizing?" Carl asked.

"It doesn't taste bad," Tucker said staring down at his food.

"Then why do they call it a Nasty Burger?" Carl asked.

"Well, when the first _Nasty Burger_ was built, it was called _Tasty Burger_. Then vandals spray painted an 'N' over the 'T' in 'Tasty' so they just changed the name. So now it's _Nasty Burger_. Because 'Nasty' is only one letter away from 'Tasty'," Tucker recited the Nasty Burger slogan.

Carl stared at Tucker completely dumbfounded. "I still don't get it. If they call it nasty then people will automatically assume it's bad," he explained.

"Yeah, well…it's not," Tucker glowered.

"Well, someone would _think_ it is," Carl pointed out.

Tucker sighed. "Ugh!"

"Are your friends ever gonna come back and visit you? I like your friends. Especially that boy, uh, Danny right?" Carl asked.

"Maybe. Why?"

"That Danny fellow seems nice. I'm not sure about that Goth girl. She's a bit…uh…ruff around the edges," Carl said making a ridged hand gesture.

Tucker laughed. "You don't know the half of it. Sam can be so uptight about stuff. It's really annoying sometimes." He lowered his brow in annoyance.

"Then why is she your friend?" Carl asked.

"Well, technically she's more Danny's friend than mine. I mean, we hang out and I enjoy her company but…you know…I guess everyone has their bad side," Tucker shrugged.

Carl shrugged as well and his spoon took another dive into his applesauce.

"Danny was my friend first. I've known him since, like, forever!" Tucker said all of a sudden.

Carl looked up.

"Yeah. You know, Sam's great and I totally think she and Danny should get together, but…" Tucker paused.

"But what?" Carl asked.

"Nothing," Tucker looked down.

"Come on, what is it?" Carl asked persistently.

Tucker sighed. "I dunno, I guess…I guess sometimes I feel a bit third-wheelish, you know? Sometimes I feel like Danny hangs out with Sam more then me."

"And that's a bad thing." Carl didn't make it sound like a question; more so a statement.

"Well, I'm glad they hang out so much but…sometimes…I feel like Danny would rather be with her then with me and…I means…I was his friend first!" Tucker bit his lip. He didn't want to cry and look like a wuss in front of this guy he barely knew. Then again, being in a cast didn't make him seem like much of a macho man to begin with so…

"I'm sure Danny still likes you. He still comes to check up on you doesn't he?" Carl asked.

"Well, yeah. But sometimes a just feel like a sidekick more then a friend…" Tucker sighed slumping into his pillow.

"Sidekick? Is your friend like a superhero or something?" Carl asked excitedly.

Tucker's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Uh…" he began to sweat.

"It's okay. You can tell me! I'm good at keeping secrets," Carl confided.

With the way Carl practically recited his whole life story to Tucker over the past week, the bureau-ed boy found that hard to believe.

"Well…" Tucker sweated.

"Do you have some kind of secret identity too? Are you like, Wonder Boy or something?" Carl asked. "Oh, I've always loved superheroes! You know that boy, Danny Phantom? Everyone seems to think he's a bad guy. But I don't buy it! Not for a minute!"

Tucker's head perked up. "Really?"

"Yeah. I think it's all just propaganda! I mean, he's probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Tucker smiled. Danny would love to hear that. "Yeah. That's gotta be it."

"Do you think your super hero friend will ever meet up with him?" Carl wondered.

Tucker smirked. "Oh, I'm sure they've crossed paths before."

"You know how he supposedly 'attacked the mayor'?" Carl asked using air-quotes. "I think it's all a sham! I never really liked our mayor anyway…"

Tucker smirked again. Carl wasn't so bad after all. Sure he was talkative but he was actually kind of fun to be around.

"You know, you're a good listener. Not a lot of people I've met really pay attention to me," Carl smiled.

Tucker felt something sink inside of him. He felt a bit ashamed seeing as he hadn't really listened to ever word the old man said. "Yeah. A lot of people don't listen to me either."

"Well, I'll listen to you," Carl smiled.

Tucker grinned. "Thanks."

Carl set his apple sauce to the side. The whole day, Tucker and Carl talked about…stuff. Just stuff. Funny stuff. Sad stuff. Stuff that made them angry. Stuff that confused them. Just stuff. It was the most engaging conversation Tucker had ever had with anyone, even Danny. It almost made him feel a bit uncomfortable; knowing that he had never talked this much with his best friend in the whole world. He would have to try and remedy that when he got out of the hospital or even when Danny came by to visit him again.

They two hospital roomies chatted until finally, the doctor came in to tell them to go to bed. Before they did, however, Tucker asked:

"What are you in here for?"

"Paralyzed legs," Carl said patting his knees before hoisting himself up onto his bed.

"Bummer," Tucker empathized looking back at his own broken leg.

"It'll be fine though," Carl said. "G'night, sonny."

"Good night," Tucker said turning off the light by his bed.

He anticipated talking to Carl the next day. It was amazing how much he really learned about himself by talking to Carl. Not necessarily good things but knowing these negative things about himself might've been a good thing. His uncle had always said admitting faults were the first step to improving on them. Tucker was actually glad he had met Carl.

The next day, the gorgeous nurse had wheeled Carl out of the room to give him some fresh air. Tucker sat in his bed, bored, and waited impatiently for Carl to return.

Suddenly, he heard someone yelling.

"YOU DROPPED HIM DOWN THE STIARS?"

"I-I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! It was an accident!" Tucker heard the gorgeous nurse weep.

"Because of your _incompetence_, he's _DEAD_! His face _smashed_ into the floor and he _STOPPED BREATHING_! _**YOU'RE FIRED**_!" the head doctor roared.

Tucker could hear the nurse crying. "I'm so sorry!" she cried. "I-I'm new to this! I-I'm sorry!"

Tucker's mind stopped working for a moment. He had just made a new friend and not a day later, his friend had slipped away. It was astounding how easily he could loss a friend.

Tucker still hated hospitals.

**THE END**

_**Not my best work but I really need to take a break from my 9 fanfics. Don't get me wrong, I love 9, but Danny's still my number one 3. And plus I have a lot of DP fanfics I REALLY need to finish –nervous giggle-. Yeah, hope you enjoyed.**_

_**R&R w/NO FLAMES please!**_

_**-Alex**_


End file.
